Jones places sixth in AL MVP voting; Johnson and Wieters also receive votes

Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera did more than win the Triple Crown this season. He also was named American League's Most Valuable Player by the Baseball Writers' Association of America, finishing ahead of Angels rookie outfielder Mike Trout, 362-281, in one of the most hotly debated competitions in recent memory. Cabrera received 22 first-place votes, compared to six for Trout. Not as close as the experts predicted. The Orioles were well-represented in the voting, with Adam Jones finishing sixth, Jim Johnson 14th and Matt Wieters 21st. Jones received one third-place vote - from the Tampa Bay Times' Marc Topkin - two fourth, eight fifth, five sixth, four seventh, three eighth and two ninth for 124 points. He finished three points behind the Rangers' Josh Hamilton. Johnson received one third-place vote - from the Detroit Free Press' John Lowe - one fourth, one seventh and one eighth for 22 points. Wieters received one seventh-place vote, from Mark Whicker of the Orange County Register, for four points. Before Jones, no Oriole had placed in the top 10 in MVP voting since shortstop Miguel Tejada finished fifth in 2004 (Melvin Mora was 18th). Tejada was 15th the following year and 20th in 2006. Jones was named Most Valuable Oriole for the second straight year after batting .287/.334/.505 with 39 doubles, three triples, 32 homers, 82 RBIs and 103 runs scored in 162 games. He also made his second All-Star team and won his second Gold Glove. Jones became the seventh Oriole to hit 30 or more homers and score 100 or more runs in the same season, joining Eddie Murray (1980, 1983, 1985), Frank Robinson (1966, 1969), Rafael Palmeiro (1996), Albert Belle (1999), Tejada (2004) and Brady Anderson (1996). Twenty of his 32 homers tied the game (three) or gave the Orioles a lead (17). Jones was two hits and one double shy of becoming the first player in franchise history to record 100 hits, 50 runs, 20 doubles, 20 home runs and 10 stolen bases before the All-Star break. According to Elias, the last player to have four game-winning RBIs in the 12th inning or later in one season was Houston's Rafael Ramirez in 1989. Here is the final voting: Miguel Cabrera, Tigers, 362 Mike Trout, Angels, 281 Adrian Beltre, Rangers, 210 Robinson Cano, Yankees, 149 Josh Hamilton, Rangers, 127 Adam Jones, Orioles, 124 Derek Jeter, Yankees, 73 Justin Verlander, Tigers, 58 Prince Fielder, Tigers, 56 Yoenis Cespedes, Athletics, 41 Edwin Encarnacion, Blue Jays, 33 David Price, Rays, 26 Fernando Rodney, Rays, 24 Jim Johnson, Orioles, 22 Alex Rios, White Sox, 17 Josh Reddick, Athletics, 14 Albert Pujols, Angels, 8 Ben Zobrist, Rays, 7 Joe Mauer, Twins, 6 Rafael Soriano, Yankees, 5 Matt Wieters, Orioles, 4 Felix Hernandez, Mariners, 2 Jered Weaver, Angels, 2 Raul Ibanez, Yankees, 1 Giants catcher Buster Posey was named the National League's MVP tonight, beating out Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun, who won it last year. A full recap of the votes cast by each voter can be found here.